By Myles Ma | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on January 19, 2016 at 10:10 AM, updated January 19, 2016 at 10:47 AM
Multiple Bergen and Passaic county schools received bomb threats, Jan. 19, 2016. (File Photo)
High schools in at least nine school districts in Bergen County and Passaic County received threats Tuesday morning.
Schools in Leonia, Tenafly, Teaneck, Garfield, Fair Lawn, Hackensack, Englewood and Bergenfield received threats, Anthony Cureton, a spokesman for Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino, said.
Police are investigating whether the threats are related, Cureton said. It’s also possible all the calls were automated, he said.
Fair Lawn Police Sgt. Brian Metzler said Fair Lawn High School received a threat over the phone at about 9 a.m. All the students have been moved to Memorial Middle School.
Affordable housing divide: Judges to reconcile differing estimates of need in NJ
JANUARY 18, 2016, 11:25 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016, 7:41 AM
BY MARINA VILLENEUVE
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Last spring, a study commissioned by a housing-rights group found that New Jersey municipalities must collectively provide more than 200,000 units of low- and moderate-income housing by 2025. Now, a new report paid for by 230 towns has put the need at just under 37,000.
Which calculation is correct — or, as the case may be, more correct — will be up to state Superior Court judges in 15 regions. The state Supreme Court last spring tasked them with reviewing the plans of hundreds of New Jersey municipalities to provide housing for people of modest means.
Units of measurement
There’s a wide disparity in estimates of how many more affordable-housing units are needed in New Jersey over the next 10 years. Here’s what a housing advocacy group and a consultant working for 230 municipalities suggest:
Fair Share Housing Center: 200,000+
Econsult Solutions: fewer than 37,000
Which calculation is correct — or, as the case may be, more correct — will be up to state Superior Court judges in 15 regions. The state Supreme Court last spring tasked them with reviewing the plans of hundreds of New Jersey municipalities to provide housing for people of modest means.
The Supreme Court’s ruling effectively disbanded the state Council on Affordable Housing, which for 15 years failed to implement affordable-housing guidelines that furthered decades-old state Supreme Court mandates.
The difference between the two reports stems from disagreements over how to interpret the Supreme Court’s action, the future of the state economy and whether to count any housing need that went unfulfilled during those 15 years. Those issues are likely to be hashed out over the next several months in court.
Meanwhile, civil rights groups in New Jersey are lambasting the municipalities’ report, saying it severely undercounts tens of thousands of working families, seniors and people with disabilities.
“If mayors across New Jersey refuse to do the right thing, we are going to have to force them to through the courts,” Frank Argote-Freyre, the president of the Latino Action Network, said in a statement last week. “New Jersey can be better than this and is better than this — but it is going to take continued work to overcome their discrimination.”
It is not clear how the matter will be resolved, said Joe Burgis, whom the courts have selected as a “special master” to review the housing plans of five Passaic County municipalities.
Will the 15 judges “be getting together to come up with a definitive set of numbers, or will the individual judges go out on their own and make their own individual determinations for their region as to what their numbers should be?” said Burgis, whose Westwood-based firm, Burgis Associates, represents municipalities in North Jersey, including Bergen County. “We still don’t know the answer to that question yet.”
Depending on what happens, some municipalities might also file new affordable-housing plans or amendments based on the report that Econsult Solutions, a Philadelphia-based consulting firm, prepared at the behest of the 230 municipalities, Burgis said.
It’s the latest head-scratcher in decades of debate over how much affordable housing New Jersey municipalities must provide under the terms of a series of state Supreme Court decisions. Those rulings, which are collectively called the Mount Laurel doctrine, established that a municipality’s land-use regulations must “affirmatively afford a reasonable opportunity” to fill its “fair share” of its region’s affordable-housing obligation.
Municipalities that met a court deadline last year were granted five months of immunity from “builder’s remedy” lawsuits, which allow developers to successfully argue that their multifamily housing projects could help satisfy a municipality’s affordable-housing obligation.
Late last week, Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino shocked the county when he announced that, though he was planning on pursuing reelection, it would not be as a Republican. He announced that he would be switching his party affiliation and running as a Democrat in November. Now, Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) Chairman Bob Yudin is speaking out against Saudino’s party shift and outlining what steps the Bergen GOP plans to take moving forward.
“We are starting to reach out,” Yudin said of finding a replacement on the ballot for Saudino. “We have a number of people who have expressed interest.”
According to Yudin, the BCRO selects county candidates using a convention. Usually, the deadline to submit a letter of intent to run would be February 1. Because Saudino defected just two weeks shy of that deadline, Yudin says he is considering extending it to February 15 in order to give potential candidates more time.
“He had told both myself and many of my lieutenants that he was running as a Republican,” Yudin said. “So the actual timeframe for people to make a decision, instead of being months or a year or so, is less than two weeks. In all fairness to everyone who is thinking about this, I probably will extend the deadline.”
Yudin also had some harsh words to say about Saudino’s decision. When he spoke to PolitickerNJ the chairman recalled a conversation he had with the Sheriff before the party-switch bombshell was revealed. According to Yudin, Saudino disclosed that he had met with Bergen County Democratic Chairman Lou Stellato about potentially switching parties. Yudin went on to say that the Sheriff assured him he would remain a Republican and that he told Stellato that he was reassured by Yudin’s leadership style, supposedly citing that Stellato would try to impose more control over the governance of the Sheriff’s department.
“That is what the Sheriff told me,” Yudin said. “I took it as a compliment. I was very proud for the Sheriff to say that and for him to have said that to Lou Stellato. That is what I mean when I say I was so blindsided by this treacherous, treasonous act. It is a very, very despicable and dishonorable thing this man has done.”
Yudin said he believes Saudino’s decision to switch his party stems from his perception that he has a higher likelihood of reelection as a Democrat than as a Republican.
JANUARY 17, 2016 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2016, 1:21 AM
BY STEVE JANOSKI
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
HO-HO-KUS — The fate of a developer’s proposal to nestle dozens of town houses in a neighborhood of single-family homes may rely on the state’s new process of getting communities to meet affordable-housing obligations.
The plan, put forward by the Upper Saddle River-based Chamberlain Developers, is to build 45 town homes on a 3.66-acre corner lot off West Saddle River Road and Hollywood Avenue. Some of those units would be designated to help the borough meet its court-mandated obligation to promote housing for low- and moderate-income residents.
But opponents say such dense housing would be wholly out of character in an area dominated by sizable single-family homes.
“For almost 100 years, there’s been single-family development on the applicant’s property,” said Ho-Ho-Kus attorney Robert Inglima, representing four neighboring families opposed to the proposal. “So to take that property and transform it into a site for any number of multifamilyhousing units would be a significant departure from the prior zoning pattern … this is an established neighborhood we’re talking about.”
But land is gold in North Jersey, and as more residents — especially young professionals and empty-nesters — seek smaller units closer to mass transit, development firms are reacting, said Bergen Realtor Robert Abbott.
JANUARY 18, 2016 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2016, 1:21 AM
BY DEENA YELLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Swim clubs around North Jersey are treading water against a wave of declining membership by reaching out to new members and retooling their programming to appeal to a broader demographic.
Club managers say they’re trying to counter the national trend of waning interest, which they attribute to changing demographics, alternative recreational venues and working parents who lack the time to sit by a pool all summer.
“There’s no question we’re seeing a decline,” said Lauren Syre, manager of the Harrington Park Swim Club, whose membership has dropped over the past decade from 350 families and a long waiting list to 280 families and no waiting list. To attract new members, Harrington Park has added a snack bar and more activities, such as family barbecue night and movie night.
Like other swim clubs, it also has opened membership to a wider audience, including out-of-towners and those who want to come on a part-time basis.
The Stonybrook Swim Club in Hillsdale, Brookside Racquet & Swim Club in Allendale and the Teaneck, River Edge, Alpine, Palisades and Leonia swim clubs and Woodside Swim and Tennis Club in Edison also have implemented promotional ventures such as yoga, adult-only lap lanes, paddle boarding, live band shows, campout parties, ice cream socials and lower membership fees.
Hackensack NJ, At County Committee Meeting Maura McMahon DeNicola announced her intention to run for reelection as Bergen County Freeholder in November 2016. Maura is the last one standing and ready to take on new challenges .
Maura said , “It’s hard to believe it’s already time to be a part of this great political process once again! “
For those that have not had the pleasure of meeting Maura has long list of local leadership positions : Bergen County Freeholder Trustee Neighbors Helping Neighbors Mayor of Franklin Lakes Councilwoman Franklin Lakes Member Board of Trustees Neighbors Helping Neighbors Former Member Board of Trustees Don Bosco Prep Former Member Franklin Lakes Board of Education Member Franklin Lakes Planning Board Member Bergen County Mayors Association and Northwest Bergen Mayors Association
Maura’s was educated at Boston College, B.A., graduated magna cum laude and recieved and M.A. from Columbia University.
Maura has been Married to Philip, 29 years with 4 children,Philip, Graduate U.S. Naval Academy, Lieutenant U.S. Navy
Paul, Graduate Leonard N. Stern School of Business at the New York University,Conor, Automotive Mechanic
Lucia, Freshman, Villanova University
Maura commented of the the defection of Sheriff Saudino ,”I am disappointed that the sheriff chose to turn his back on his party, and his commitment to the people who nurtured his political career. I am disappointed that he chose political expediency, and self-interest ahead of the people’s interest.
I am sure the allure of the power of the Democratic Party in Bergen County is difficult to resist. I am sure Chairman Stellato made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. But there are those of us who believe in fighting for what is right and what we believe in regardless of the outcome.
Sheriff Saudino may want us to believe that his decision is about law enforcement, but we know it’s not. It’s about making a deal to secure his re-election. So let’s not for a moment pretend that this defection today has anything to do with differences with the past administration or the sheriff’s ability to carry out his duties.
It’s about nothing more than political ambition and succumbing to the allure of power and prolonging a political career.
I am prepared to work this year with the citizens of this county who want fair, honest and open government and I look forward to working with the Republican Party’s nominee for sheriff.”
By Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on January 16, 2016 at 8:05 AM, updated January 16, 2016 at 10:17 AM
WASHINGTON — Under fire for reportedly refusing to contribute to a Republican group because it backed gay candidates, U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett said his opposition to same-sex marriage comes from his faith, and he does not “have malice” toward any group of people.
“My colleagues and my constituents know that I am a devout man of faith, and therefore I support traditional marriage,” Garrett said in a statement released by his campaign late Friday. “Calling me names or implying that I have malice in my heart for any person or group of people is false and completely disingenuous.”
Garrett (R-5th Dist.) has faced sharp criticism for reportedly telling fellow Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee that he was not contributing to the House GOP’s fundraising arm because it backed gay candidates. Garrett has never denied the reports. His statement was the first lengthy response since the controversy erupted last summer.
He and U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th Dist.) are among 154 House Republicans — a majority of the conference — who are sponsoring legislation to allow groups and individuals to cite their religious beliefs and deny service to same-sex couples.
U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett’s reported remarks on gays has Democrats looking at winning the congressional district.
“Like all Americans who exercise their right of free speech and religion, I make contributions to people and organizations who share my beliefs on important issues, in this case traditional marriage,” Garrett said. “Since then, I’ve continued my support of the Republican Party and the ideals we represent on behalf of our country and every American.”
Garrett called the criticism an effort by the “Washington establishment” to “distract from my work to revive the economy and hold the government accountable by portraying me as something I’m not.”
He said that several prominent Democrats, President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of State Hiilary Clinton, also initially opposed same-sex marriage.
Was Obama “a bigot before he changed his view on traditional marriage in 2012 when it was politically convenient?” Garrett said. “Or Hillary Clinton? Or President Bill Clinton?”
FAIR LAWN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — Friday night was far from the first nervous one for residents of Fair Lawn, New Jersey, who have been plagued by loud booming sounds for about a week.
As CBS2’s Dave Carlin reported, the source of the nuisance is a mystery.
“We were, like, looking at each other like, ‘What was that?’” said Danielle McManus.
It happened twice in the past week to McManus and her family. While inside their home in a usually very quiet Fair Lawn neighborhood, things went bump in the night.
“If we didn’t know any better, it almost sounds like a cannon,” McManus said, “It was so deep and just like, echoey.”
Elsewhere in the neighborhood along the Passaic River, residents say they have heard loud booms as early as 6 p.m. and as late as 2 a.m..
Paramus NJ, The Valley Hospital Department of Community Health and Community Benefit recently donated 10 DeskCycles to Parkway Elementary School as part of its health education partnership with the Borough of Paramus. “This school year, Parkway’s theme was healthy bodies and that works right into our departmental goals so we partnered up to support them,” said Valley health educator Danielle Cinnante. “Our department has brought in nutrition and health education to the students and parents of Parkway and is so excited to help support the health of our young community!” In addition to supporting fitness, the cycles also help learning by enabling the students to focus on their classroom tasks without fidgeting or becoming restless.
Shown here with Parkway students are Parminder Savalia, Health Education Supervisor, The Valley Hospital; Elaine Palombit, school nurse, Parkway Elementary; Jean Mulholland, physical education teacher, Parkway Elementary; and Danielle Cinnante, health educator, The Valley Hospital.
Sales at U.S. retailers declined in December to wrap the weakest year since 2009, raising concern about the momentum in consumer spending heading into 2016.
The 0.1 percent drop matched the median forecast of 84 economists surveyed by Bloomberg and followed a 0.4 percent gain in November, Commerce Department figures showed Friday in Washington. For all of 2015, purchases climbed 2.1 percent, the smallest advance of the current economic expansion.
Expanding gaming to North Jersey could force more casinos to close in Atlantic City, Moody’s Investors Service warned Wednesday, adding that such a result would increase the likelihood that the ratings agency would downgrade the resort town’s credit. Andrew Seidman, Inquirer Read more
Ridgewood NJ, sources say Bergen County Sheriff Mike Saudino aka the “double dipper in chief” is about to change his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat. This puts Saudino Bergen County’s top double dipper, $267,987 – $138,000 salary + $129,987 pension as an Emerson Borough police retiree in Democrat hands .
The anticipated party switch came as no surprise, given recent history. In 2014, Saudino back stabbed incumbent Republican County Executive Kathe Donovan and made known his preference for the Democratic candidacy of challenger James Tedesco.
Tedesco ultimately won the County Executive office and Democrats in Bergen armed with Union money have bucked national trends further consolidated power in Bergen under the leadership of Bergen County Democratic Committee Chairman Lou Stellato.
Early this year Saudino claimed “I think I have shown that I am not a political guy,” Saudino told PolitickerNJ. “I don’t intend to change. I don’t want to be a political guy. I understand that I am in an elected position but I want to keep politics as much as I can out of it. There is no place for politics in law enforcement. I try to maintain that attitude. To me, it is not about the party. It is about who the best people are, who has the best ideas.” ( https://politickernj.com/2015/12/bergen-sheriff-saudino-there-is-no-place-for-politics-in-law-enforcement/ )
Well I guess this proves there is room for Politics in law enforcement after all and the question remains is will his new affiliation instill confidence from his new boss County Executive James Tedesco giving his disloyal history?
Threatening message puts Waldwick Middle School-High School on Lock Down
January 14,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Waldwick NJ, A threatening message found written on a bathroom wall at the Waldwick Middle School-High School triggered a response from several northwest Bergen County police departments on Thursday morning, 01/14. Personnel from the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office also responded. The school was completely locked down while a search of the entire facility was conducted. No immediate threat was located. Anxious parents waited outside in the frigid weather for their children to be released from the building.
JANUARY 13, 2016, 11:02 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2016, 7:30 AM
BY JOHN CICHOWSKI
RECORD COLUMNIST |
THE RECORD
New Jersey road deaths fell a bit less than 1 percent to 554 last year — a near record low — but those who rely on bicycles or let others drive for them won’t find much comfort in year-end fatality figures for 2015.
Cycling deaths ballooned 64 percent to 18 last year, the most since 2008, and passenger fatalities rose to 95, almost a 19 percent rise, according to preliminary New Jersey State Police figures. On a more positive note, motorcycle deaths dropped to a record low 49 and pedestrian fatalities fell to 163, but that figure remained well in excess of the previous 10-year average of 152.
“We’re pleased, but we think we can do even better,” said Gary Poedubicky, acting director of the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety.
States like New Jersey and New York, where overall road fatalities have declined substantially since the 1980s, have been struggling to extend these safety benefits beyond drivers to walkers and cyclists, whose combined death counts have remained stubbornly high. Garden State totals showed 172 pedestrians and cyclists were killed in 2005 compared with 81 in 2014, a 5 percent increase. During the same period, all traffic deaths declined more than 25 percent — from 748 in 2005 to 556 in 2014.
This week, the Legislature sent a bill to Governor Christie that would focus on these mostly preventable incidents — the kind that killed 1,517 people on foot and 143 people on bicycles from 2005 to 2014. The legislation, which unanimously passed both houses, would create a 15-member commission to recommend strategies for making improvements in road design, laws and behavior that traditionally favor vehicles over people, said Cindy Steiner of Montclair, executive director of the New Jersey Bicycle and Walking Coalition.
“More people are walking and riding bicycles than ever,” said Steiner, whose group supports the bill — A-3888 in the Assembly and S-2521 in the Senate. “But for the first time, this commission would put all the parties together who have a stake in the problem — from bicyclists and drivers to police, motor-vehicle executives, transportation officials and even the health commissioner.”
By Jeff Goldman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on January 14, 2016 at 6:45 AM, updated January 14, 2016 at 8:02 AM
While the three jackpot winning tickets sold for Wednesday night’s approximately $1.6 billion Powerball drawing weren’t sold anywhere near New Jersey, at least two Garden State residents will take a home a nice consolation prize.
Two tickets sold in New Jersey matched five numbers, but not the Powerball. One of those ticketholders plucked down an extra $1 to take the Powerplay option so his or her ticket is worth $2 million before taxes. The other ticket is worth $1 million.
State lottery officials will reveal where those tickets were sold later Thursday.
Other $2 million tickets were sold in Arizona, Florida Iowa, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
Besides New Jersey, $1 million tickets were sold in New York, Pennsylvania and 20 other states.
The winning numbers drawn Wednesday night were: 8, 27, 34, 4, 19. The Powerball was 10 with a Powerplay of 2x.
The odds of a ticket matching five numbers (but not the Powerball) are 11,688,053.52 to 1.
